Air cleaner scavenge kit

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for removing debris from an air cleaner of an internal combustion engine. The method includes receiving a flow of air from a source of air flow associated with an internal combustion engine at a first end portion of a conduit and passing the flow of air towards a second end portion of the conduit. The method also includes passing the flow of air into a scavenging conduit of the air cleaner towards an exhaust end of the scavenging conduit and creating a suction pressure at an end of the scavenging conduit connected to the air cleaner. The suction pressure results in a drawing in of the debris from the air cleaner.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to an air cleaner of aninternal combustion engine and more particularly, to a method andapparatus for removing debris from the air cleaner.

BACKGROUND

Typical internal combustion engines require an inflow of ambient air forsupporting one or more functional aspects of the engine assembly. Theambient air generally contains dust particles, grit and the like thatmay damage the engine assembly. Therefore, it is desirable to have aninflow of air that is substantially free of airborne particulates, suchas fine dust, dirt, sand, crop material, etc. (debris).

Typically, air cleaners and/or filters are utilized to remove fine dust,dirt, sand, crop material, etc., from drawn in ambient air. An aircleaner performs the task of removing the airborne particulates from theambient air entering the internal combustion engine such that theparticulates do not travel into engine and cause significant wear anddamage. Over a period of time, the air cleaner can become clogged withthe entrapped dirt and grit particles. Therefore, air cleaners requireperiodic cleaning or replacement. Because air cleaners are expensive,however, frequent replacement is costly and undesirable. This isespecially true when the machine is operated in a dirty or dustyenvironment, such as mining or other earth working environments.

To aid in removing accumulations of debris from the air cleaner,typically a scavenging conduit is provided. The scavenging conduit isconnected to the air cleaner at a first end and is kept open to theenvironment at the other end. The accumulations in the air cleaner fallinto the scavenging conduit and finally escape from the open/exhaust endunder the force of gravity. To aid in removing accumulations of thedebris from the air cleaner, generally a muffler is utilized. One suchexample is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,668 issued on Oct. 6, 1987 andassigned to Nelson Industries Inc., wherein a suction pressure isgenerated in the scavenging conduit, of the air cleaner, by a cavityprovided in the scavenging conduit and connected to exhaust mufflers ofthe engine assembly. The arrangement disclosed is costly since theexhaust muffler has to be modified. Further, the cavity arrangement canbe susceptible to being filled with the debris drawn from the aircleaner since the cavity has a narrow cross-section. Furthermore, thedisclosed arrangement fails to provide effective suction pressure. Inother disclosed examples, a suction fan is connected to the scavengingconduit to effectively remove the dirt particles accumulated in the aircleaner. However, such an arrangement adds to the cost and bulk of theengine envelope. Hence, there remains a need to provide a simplearrangement for effectively removing debris accumulated in the aircleaner.

The present disclosure is directed to mitigating or overcoming one ormore of the problems as set forth above.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure provides an air cleaner scavengingkit for an engine assembly. The kit includes a conduit disposedproximate to an air-generating component of an internal combustionengine at a first end portion of the conduit. The conduit is connectedto a scavenging conduit of an air cleaner at a second end portion of theconduit. The conduit is disposed to receive a stream of air from theair-generating component and to direct the stream of air towards anexhaust end of the scavenging conduit.

In another aspect, a system for removing debris from an air cleaner ofan internal combustion engine is disclosed. The system includes ascavenging conduit having a first end portion connected to an aircleaner and an exhaust end spaced from the first end portion. The systemalso includes a conduit disposed between a source of air and thescavenging conduit, the conduit being positioned to guide a stream ofair from the source of air into the scavenging conduit. The system alsoincludes a nozzle located at an end portion of the conduit and disposedin the scavenging conduit. The nozzle directs the air towards theexhaust end of the scavenging conduit, the air generating a suctionpressure at the first end portion of the scavenging conduit connected tothe air cleaner.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method forremoving debris from an air cleaner of an engine assembly. The methodincludes routing a stream of air from an air-generating component of theengine assembly into a scavenging conduit coupled to the air cleaner.The method includes directing the stream of air towards an exhaust endof the scavenging conduit. The method also includes the step ofgenerating a suction pressure in a portion of the scavenging conduitproximate to the air cleaner, the suction pressure causing a drawing ofthe debris from the air cleaner.

Other details and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent byreference to the following description and illustrative drawings ofcertain present embodiments thereof and certain present preferredmethods of practicing the same proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of this disclosure will be understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an engine assembly with an air cleanerconsistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of an air cleaner according to anaspect of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an arrangement 100 for removing debris out of aconventional air cleaner 102 of an engine assembly according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The disclosed arrangement 100includes an air cleaner 102 having a scavenging conduit 104. Thescavenging conduit 104 is connected to the air cleaner 102 at one end106 for receiving debris that were separated from the incoming ambientair by the air cleaner 102. The other end, or the exhaust end 108, ofthe scavenging conduit 104 is generally left open to the environment fordischarging the accumulated debris. A duct 110, such as a pipe or blowpipe, is made up of a material such as plastic, rubber, or metal. Duct110 is disposed proximate to an air-generating component of the engineassembly at first end. According to an embodiment, the air-generatingcomponent may be a radiator fan 111 of the engine assembly. Radiator fan111 or a similar air-generating component is not required, however, andduct 110 may alternately be exposed to open air.

FIG. 2 shows an air cleaner according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. Duct 110 on scavenging conduit 104 has a second end 112arranged to open into the scavenging conduit 104. The second end 112 ofthe duct 110 is so located to blow air towards the exhaust end 108 ofthe scavenging conduit 104. According to one embodiment, the second end112 of the duct 110 is located in the middle of the both the ends of thescavenging conduit 104. In yet another embodiment, the duct 110 islocated nearer to the end 106 of the scavenging conduit 104, connectedto the air cleaner 102.

The second end 112 of the duct 110 may be oriented at an acute angle,angle “L” shown in FIG. 2, with respect to the lateral wall of thescavenging conduit 104 and tilted towards the exhaust end. In oneexemplary embodiment, the angle is selected from a range lying betweenabout 30 degrees to about 80 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axisof the scavenging conduit, the duct being at an obtuse angle relative tothe exhaust end 108. This is preferred but not required, however. Thefirst end of the duct 110 diverts a stream of air from theair-generating component. The diverted air is introduced at a highvelocity into the scavenging conduit 104 through the second end 112 ofthe duct 110, such that it blows towards the exhaust end 108 of thescavenging conduit 104. The high velocity air generates a suctionpressure near the end 106 of the scavenging conduit 104, connected tothe air cleaner 102. The suction pressure results in the debris to bepulled out of the air cleaner 102. The debris is further pushed out ofthe scavenging conduit 104 with the stream of air that blows out of thescavenging conduit 104. In one embodiment, a nozzle 114 is configured atthe second end 112 of the duct 110. The nozzle 114 is so located to blowair at a high velocity in the scavenging conduit 104 towards the exhaustend 108 of the scavenging conduit 104. In yet another embodiment, theduct 110 may be a blow pipe having a nozzle 114. Nozzle 114 may create aVenturi effect to generate an effective suction pressure between secondend 112 and end 106.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The operation of the present disclosure is best described in relation toits use in machines operating in a dirty or dusty environment,particularly those machines performing farming, digging or loadingfunctions, such as, excavators, backhoe loaders, skids steel loaders,wheel loaders, track-type tracers, and front shovels, etc.

An air cleaner is an important component of an engine assembly. Thedebris extracted by the air cleaner from the inhaled air is required tobe regularly removed from the air cleaner for efficient functioning ofthe air cleaner. Disclosed arrangement 100 as shown in FIG. 1 providesan arrangement for efficiently removing debris collected in the aircleaner 102 by generating a suction pressure in the scavenging conduit104. The suction pressure is generated, by blowing a jet of air in thescavenging conduit 104, towards the exhaust end 108 of the scavengingconduit 104. The jet of air results in generation of a suction pressurenear the end 106 of the scavenging conduit 104, connected to the aircleaner 102. The debris pulled from the air cleaner 102 is furtherpushed out of the scavenging conduit 104 with the air escaping from theexhaust end 108 thereby keeping the air cleaner 102 free of debris. Theair supplied to the scavenging conduit 104 can be drawn from anyair-generating component (not shown) of the engine assembly such as butnot limited to radiator fan. Thus, the disclosed arrangement 100 can beinstalled in conventional engine assemblies without any majormodifications and results in effective removal of debris from thescavenging conduit of the air cleaners.

While certain present preferred embodiments of the disclosure andcertain preferred methods of practicing the same have been illustratedand described herein, it is to be understood that the disclosure is notlimited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practicedwithin the scope of the following claims.

1. An engine assembly comprising: an air generating component thatincludes a radiator fan; an air cleaner positioned to filter out debriscarried by ambient incoming air prior to entry into an engine; ascavenging conduit attached to the air cleaner and including a first endpositioned to receive the debris from the air cleaner, and an exhaustend opening to an environment outside the engine for discharging thedebris to the environment; a duct extending between the air generatingcomponent and the scavenging conduit, and a second end of the ductopening into the scavenging conduit in a direction and at a locationbetween the first end and the exhaust end to blow air from the airgenerating component toward the exhaust end of the scavenging conduit;and wherein the blow air generates suction pressure at the first end ofthe scavenging conduit to pull the debris out of the air cleaner andpush the debris out of the exhaust end into the environment.
 2. Theengine assembly of claim 1 wherein the second end of the duct is nearerthe first end of the scavenging conduit than the exhaust end of thescavenging conduit.
 3. The engine assembly of claim 2 wherein the ductis oriented at an acute angle with respect to the scavenging conduitsuch that the duct is tilted toward the exhaust end.
 4. The engineassembly of claim 3 wherein the acute angle is between 30 and 80degrees.
 5. The engine assembly of claim 4 wherein the second end of theduct is configured as a nozzle so that the blow air enters thescavenging conduit at high velocity.
 6. The engine assembly of claim 1wherein the duct is oriented at an acute angle with respect to thescavenging conduit such that the duct is tilted toward the exhaust end.7. The engine assembly of claim 6 wherein the acute angle is between 30and 80 degrees.
 8. The engine assembly of claim 7 wherein the second endof the duct is configured as a nozzle so that the blow air enters thescavenging conduit at high velocity.
 9. The engine assembly of claim 1wherein the second end of the duct is configured as a nozzle so that theblow air enters the scavenging conduit at high velocity.
 10. The engineassembly of claim 9 wherein the second end of the duct is nearer thefirst end of the scavenging conduit than the exhaust end of thescavenging conduit.
 11. A method of operating an engine assembly,comprising the steps of: filtering out debris from ambient air with anair cleaner prior to entry into an engine; positioning a first end of ascavenging conduit to receive the debris from the air cleaner;discharging the debris through an exhaust end of the scavenging conduitinto an environment outside the engine; generating suction pressure atthe first end of the scavenging conduit to pull the debris out of theair cleaner and into the scavenging conduit; pushing the debris towardthe exhaust end of the scavenging conduit with blow air supplied througha duct that opens into the scavenging conduit; and generating the blowair with an air generating component that includes a radiator fan. 12.The method of claim 11 wherein the generating and pushing steps includeorienting a second end of the duct at an acute angle tilted toward theexhaust end of the scavenging conduit.
 13. The method of claim 12wherein the generating and pushing steps further includes configuringthe second end of the duct as a nozzle to deliver the blow air to thescavenging conduit at a high velocity.